As of now, it’s only a matter of “when” the U.S. plays in the 2026 World Baseball Classic after a 9-1 win over Great Britain on Saturday.
The tournament favorite trailed UK through half of the second set of games, thanks to a dormant offense and a surprising first-inning homer from Tarik Skubal, the best pitcher in the world. Two pitchers, Indy veteran Tyler Viza and Los Angeles Angels minor leaguer Najer Vector, defeated the Americans in four innings.
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Then, the massacre.
Britain made just one mistake and the floodgates opened. Ernie Clement reached first on a bad pass by UK third baseman Ivan Johnson. He advanced to third on a Pete Crow-Armstrong double. He scored on a wild pitch.
Two pitches later, Kyle Schwarber hit the ball 427 feet deep into the second deck.
More running followed. Gunnar Henderson added two more runs with a single. Alex Bregman, Aaron Judge and Will Smith all had RBIs in the sixth inning. One inning later, Bregman had another sacrifice fly.
The much-anticipated United States defeated Brazil in the opener with 17 walks. The offense is more aggressive this time around, but still retains the identity of a slow-breaking pitcher with little MLB experience.
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On the pitching side, Skubal is on the mound in what will be his only start of the game. As few expected, he failed. The reason: Boston Red Sox versatile Nate Eaton ambushed a fastball on the first pitch of the game for a double that turned into a home run after a replay review.
Skubal shook it off, striking out nine of the remaining 10 batsmen.
From that point on, the American bullpen took over and remained dominant. Skubal, Clay Holmes, David Bednar, Griffin Jaquez and Brad Keller combined for 17 strikeouts and no walks. The only English batsman to get a hit was Eaton, who took 3 for 4, while his teammate took 0 for 25.
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Now 2-0, Team USA is almost guaranteed to qualify for the knockout rounds. However, Monday’s game against Mexico will soon face its biggest test, with top spot in Group B likely to be in jeopardy. Mexico beat Great Britain 8-2 on Friday.
